Unpredictable Venezuelan heroes carry Brewers to victory

LOS ANGELES – Orlando Arcia was limited to only 348 at-bats during a tough regular season that included being optioned twice and Milwaukee Brewers ace Jhoulys Chacín has come back from injuries that could have ended his career.

On Monday night the two Venezuelans starred on one of the biggest stages in the game, reminding us that the beauty of baseball lies in its unpredictable nature.

Rare feat

Arcia hit his third home run of the postseason, a two-run shot that sucked the energy out of the crowd at Dodger Stadium in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

With that home run, Arcia becomes only the third player in major league history to hit three home runs in a postseason after hitting three or fewer in the regular season, joining Cleveland’s Roberto Perez (2016) and the Yankees’ Willie Randolph (1981).

Not many would have been bold enough to predict that Arcia would be the batter who carried the Brewers’ offense to a 2-1 series lead.

But Arcia maintained his confidence and now is coming through for Milwaukee.

“Every player is going to have their ups and downs, and this year was definitely a lot of downs for me and things weren’t going my way so they sent me down,” Arcia said after Game 3. “I was able to work on stuff, recognize pitches, and especially breaking balls. And now I do my adjustments, and things have been working better and now we’re up here in the playoffs.”

Both times Arcia was optioned this year, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said the organization stressed that their young shortstop should work on consistency.

The team never questioned his defense, which Counsell has consistently called the best in the Brewers’ infield, using words including “elite” and “special” to describe the 24-year-old.

“Orlando has always been a guy that you want to put a moment on him, put pressure on him,” Counsell said Monday night. “Put a big moment on him. Put the spotlight on him. He loves it. And I’m not surprised that he’s thriving in playoff atmosphere. He has this love and he’s wired the right way for this kind of baseball.”

Deep enough

For Chacín, Monday night’s start was exactly what manager Counsell needed. After Milwaukee’s bullpen couldn’t hold a lead at home in Game 2, what was considered the Brewers’ strength at the beginning of the series was suddenly a question mark.

Ideally, Counsell’s ace would be able to eat some innings and keep his team in the game as the series turned to LA.

Chacín did exactly that, throwing 5 1/3 innings of three-hit shutout baseball. He walked two and struck out six before giving way to Corey Knebel in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“I’ve been ready for this [moment] for almost 10 years,” Chacín said. “[I’m] just really grateful that I had a chance to pitch in the playoff. [I] just want to do my job. I just want to go out and give my team a chance to win the game. It doesn’t matter how many [innings] I pitch.”

The number of innings he throws might not matter to Chacín, but Counsell was appreciative.

“Jhoulys was just outstanding tonight,” Counsell said. “He made big pitches. The strikeout to [Yasmani] Grandal was a huge pitch. The last … four times we’ve given him the ball it’s just been a big-time performance each and every time.”

Featured Image: Jeff Gross / Getty Images Sport